Spain claims breaking up ring 'led by ex-Guantanamo prisoner'

Published June 16, 2014
— File photo by AP
— File photo by AP

MADRID: Spanish police arrested eight people in a pre-dawn raid in Madrid on Monday, breaking up a jihadist recruitment network led by a former Guantanamo Bay inmate, the government said.

The cell found and dispatched recruits for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants based in Syria and Iraq, Spain's interior ministry said in a statement.

“It should be highlighted that the leader of this cell lived in Spain after passing through Guantanamo, having been arrested in Afghanistan in 2001,” it said, without providing further details.

Police have so far launched 12 raids, detaining eight people, and the investigation remains open, the ministry said.

Spain's government has said it fears battle-hardened Islamist fighters may return to Spain from Syria and other conflict zones under the influence of Al Qaeda-inspired groups, presenting a threat of attacks.

The latest strike by Spanish security forces is the third significant raid on jihadist recruitment cells announced in as many months.

On May 30, security forces arrested six suspects in Melilla, one of two Spanish-governed cities along with Ceuta on the northern Morocco coast.

Spain accused the network of recruiting and sending out jihadists to join “terrorist organisations” based in Mali and Libya.

On March 14, Spanish and Moroccan forces arrested seven suspects as they broke up a cell suspected of sending volunteer fighters to Mali, Syria and Libya.

The authorities detained three people in Morocco and another four in Spain, one of whom was caught in the southern city of Malaga and the other three in Melilla.

Spain this year marked the 10th anniversary of the March 11, 2004 Al Qaeda-inspired bombing of four packed commuter trains in Madrid, which killed 191 people.

Since the Madrid train bombings, more than 470 suspected Islamic extremists have been arrested in Spain, according to the Spanish interior ministry.

Opinion

Editorial

Kurram ceasefire
Updated 26 Nov, 2024

Kurram ceasefire

DESPITE efforts by the KP government to bring about a ceasefire in Kurram tribal district, the bloodletting has...
Hollow victory
26 Nov, 2024

Hollow victory

THE conclusion of COP29 in Baku has left developing nations — struggling with the mounting costs of climate...
Infrastructure schemes
26 Nov, 2024

Infrastructure schemes

THE government’s decision to finance priority PSDP schemes on a three-year rolling basis is a significant step...
Anti-women state
Updated 25 Nov, 2024

Anti-women state

GLOBALLY, women are tormented by the worst tools of exploitation: rape, sexual abuse, GBV, IPV, and more are among...
IT sector concerns
25 Nov, 2024

IT sector concerns

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ambitious plan to increase Pakistan’s IT exports from $3.2bn to $25bn in the ...
Israel’s war crimes
25 Nov, 2024

Israel’s war crimes

WHILE some powerful states are shielding Israel from censure, the court of global opinion is quite clear: there is...